//------------------------------// // Surgical Extraction // Story: Ghost Town // by Dash The Stampede //------------------------------// Lightning illuminated the innards of the Golden Oaks Library, bringing with it an earsplitting peal of thunder. Anguished cries filled the spaces between thunder and the torrential rains as Shining held his sister close, tears streaming from his face as the young mage futilely gazed at book after book, to no avail. Her horn sputtered from the effort and her spell fizzled out, dropping her books and reports to the soaked floors as she collapsed backwards into Shining's chest, her over-exertion leaving her in a near-coma. Her breaths came ragged, coughs wracking her frail body as Shining laid her gently onto the nearby couch. Turning to Celestia and Luna, his eyes bloodshot and limbs quaking, Shining could only gasp out a plea for help for Twilight before succumbing to his own exhaustion, collapsing to the floor in a ragged heap. Celestia calmly lifted Shining off the floor, her golden aura illuminating the darkened library, before setting him upon the couch, snuggled next to his sister. Her horn glowed once more, the sounds of the torrent outside dimming to a dull hum as a large barrier formed around the tree home itself. Rain flowed down the sides in rivulets as Celestia took a moment to take in the quiet and allowed her thoughts to settle. "We must scan Twilight. If it is what I fear, our problems may only be just beginning..." Celestia sighed. "She is asleep as this point. T'would be but a simple trip inside to see what, if anything, the poor dear is thinking. What do you recommend, Tia?" Luna gazed sadly at the sleeping pair. "Do it." Celestia's reply was quick and curt. Luna nodded, her horn beginning to glow a deep blue as the spell began to take shape. She drew closer to Twilight, her horn crackling with energy as the spell began to resolve. Luna's horn made contact with Twilight's forehead, and her world was plunged into darkness. Pitch black was all Luna could perceive as she floated in the seemingly endless abyss she had been dumped into. She was used to her spell dropping her by the doors to the mind, whether located in an inconspicuous hallway or an ornate labyrinth, but never into darkness. She lit her horn, attempting to illuminate the blank space around her, but the depths only stared back, holding their secrets out of Luna's reach. Her confusion only grew when she opened her wings to float and she began to feel she was sinking. Shapes began to dance at the edges of her vision, vines of shadow seemed to roil about below her as her body continued to sink towards the writhing mass. Panicking, Luna tried flapping her wings and casting levitation spells on herself, but the shadows only drew nearer. She swore she could hear a faint whispering in her ears; all around her it echoed. "Help..." "Me..." Luna shivered. "Twilight! Can you hear me?" Silence. The coiling shadows began to part, as though allowing Luna passage, as the whisper penetrated the miasma once more, echoing loudly in the aftermath. "Save..." "Us..." Luna turned her head and called out again. "Twilight! Twilight, if you can hear me, show me you're listening!" The vines below began to lap at her fetlocks, the wisps of black forming tendrils around her hooves. "Show me you're still here, Twilight!" Luna became desperate, bucking the shadows and blasting beams of light at the floor, trying everything she could to prevent the shadows from overtaking her. She could not be sure of what the miasma was, but it could be responsible for Twilight's mental disabilities. The whispers turned to voices, to calls for help, to screams of anguish as Luna fell into the shadows, the vines swallowing her up and cutting out all the light. Down Luna fell, spiraling through the darkness, a small light forming below her. The light rushed up to greet her, her gaze falling upon the tattered memory fragments whipping past her head, bits and pieces of the former life of one of Equestria's most talented mages. She reached out as she fell, grasping at memory fibers to slow or halt her fall, tearing them off from the aether, each one a pivotal moment in Twilight's life. Luna quickly realized she was potentially destroying Twilight's remaining memories and held her limbs close to herself, allowing her body to free-fall in the void. Another light drew nearer, this time blinding Luna, the strength of a thousand suns beaming through the void, cutting through the darkness and revealing a small platform upon which a young filly stood, her appearance a dead ringer for Twilight. The filly appeared to be reading a book, with a small ragdoll at her side. As Luna sailed past the filly, she made eye contact, sending spikes of ice through her heart. Black, soulless eyes gouged deep holes into Luna's soul, the hollow pits having no place residing on a filly like that. Yet, they stared slow and longingly at the Princess before she fell out of sight, almost begging her to bring the light and color back. She knew deep down that she had just seen Twilight's inner being, and her conclusions only filled her with dread and sorrow. Suddenly, an immaculate white hoof thrust itself through a small rift in the darkness below Luna, and she frantically reached out and took hold, feeling her entire being pulled up and through the tear in the mental fabric, out into the real world. Celestia lurched backwards as Luna flew from the hole seemingly gouged from Twilight's head, rolling a few times before coming to a full stop. The pair extricated themselves and stood up, Luna shaking from her frightening journey as Celestia embraced her shivering sister. "Luna! My goodness, you're safe! What...what did you see?" Celestia braced herself as her sister grimaced. "I fear we have more issues on our hooves than we started with..." A short pause. "This could be irreversible." "It is as I feared, dear sister..." Luna could barely hold back the tears as she recounted her tale to Celestia, the pair taking furtive glances towards the disabled pony as she attempted to make understanding within the pages before her. "Her mind is broken. Her dreams are filled with the miasma of shadows and vague memories, each new phantom twisting and warping her further from recovery..." Luna shifted uncomfortably, finding the wood grain below her hooves to be especially interesting. "It is as though her very being has gone, replaced by a husk of body and absence of mind. I heard voices...Twilight's voice at first, asking for help...the townsponies' voices last." Luna wiped away another bout of tears, sniffling in between breaths. "The sound filled me with dread and pierced through to my very soul, as though willing me to feel their anguish, their scattered memories, their shredded limbs, and to return them to the lives they once held." Standing up from her cushion, she steeled herself before facing her sister with determination. "Celestia, I..." She faltered, choked down her fears, and began again. "Celestia, you must know by now, deep inside yourself, what this endeavor will bring thee...what havoc it will bring and continue to sow if you risk bringing this entire town back..." "We can't just leave them as they are!" She motioned to Twilight. "She is at least breathing and alive...she has magical access...I just need to figure out why her mind isn't all there! We must have missed a piece or two from the remains!" Celestia lit her horn and searched deep throughout the town, using Luna's improvised tracking spell, but coming up with no pings throughout the town. The storm raged on, rivers beginning to run throughout the town, pulling leaves and insects along with its current. Buildings shook and trees creaked, winds whipping the leaves off their fragile branches. A cold pit began to burrow itself into Celestia's mind, migrating to her chest as she began to hyperventilate. "Celestia, please, be calm!" Luna hugged her close, trying to reason with her distraught sister, to no avail. "Luna, you don't understand! I promised I would right what I wronged, what I caused, what I am solely responsible for!" Regret began to ache in her chest. "And...and...and I don't think I c-can succeed." Waves of sorrow crashed through her mind, tearing away her hope and her relief, leaving behind a scarred, barren wasteland of thoughts. Her mood soured, and her wings fell at her sides, limp and useless to lift her spirits. She glanced back at her once-protege, taking in the way her magic had shimmered in the darkness, the most perfect shade of lavender accented by the streaks of color in her mane. The way her fur bristled with energy as the spell had attempted to resolve again and again. Celestia could see every inch of her student, but knew in her heart that her student was gone. Now, she faced a darker and scarier prospect; one which she feared all along, and had reserved only for the worst-case scenario. Reviving the ponies took away much of her life force, and to restore the entire town could drain her entirely, leaving her powerless. She couldn't risk leaving Equestria indefensible by her own need to right the wrongs, couldn't ruin the lives of the rest of the country by her own doing. Even though they had laid down their elaborate popping plan, the nobles would soon find out the truth, and the country would need a strong and emotionally sound leader to see it through the crisis of the cover up and reveal of the tragedy of Ponyville. Even if she missed a piece, she couldn't bring back that which fades with organic life once it passes: memories, names, intricate motor skills, language. The list went on for pages and pages within Celestia's mind, each dragging her smile further and further downwards, until a resolute frown adorned her face almost permanently. "Luna." "Yes, Tia?" "Is she aware of her being? Does she know she is breathing and living right now?" "I cannot say for sur-" "Please, Luna, for both of our sakes..." Celestia wiped away the tears. "I need to know...Is she gone? I-is my little prodigy never coming back?" A pause. An uncomfortably long pause. "I think you already know the answer..." A deafening silence. "I...I do."